


Show Me Where it Hurts

by PerennialFall



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Genre: Blood and Injury, Comfort, Crushes, Drama & Romance, Forehead Kisses, Healing, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, One Shot, Pain
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-31
Updated: 2019-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:02:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22043770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PerennialFall/pseuds/PerennialFall
Summary: Link returns to Telma's Bar after a particularly harrowing journey - bloodied, bruised and cold. A certain scholar rushes to his aid.
Relationships: Link & Shad (Legend of Zelda), Link/Shad (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 17
Kudos: 73





	Show Me Where it Hurts

**Author's Note:**

> Here we go again! I'm not quite satisfied with this... but I'm happy to put it out there anyway, so please enjoy? And Happy New Year!

**Show Me Where it Hurts  
**  
Link thundered inside in the dead of night, leaving a trail of watery footsteps behind him. A vicious storm shuddered against the door at his back. It had been some days since he'd kept track of time and the price for failing to do so was the sight of an empty bar. He had caught Hyrule in the graveyard hours, in that rare window of time where not even Telma maintained a presence. If his eyes weren't so accustomed to the dark, he might have found it impossible to see the way forward.  
  
He stumbled ahead, reaching for a chair. But then the room swayed, pulling it out from his grasp as his feet nearly gave out beneath him. His teeth flashed in a grimace of pain... conceding his foolishness for coming here.  
  
Link consoled himself with the fact that he could at least rest in this place without anything thirsting to finish him off. No eyes burned out of the ceiling. No rats scurried in the corners. And most of the horrors in this town - the image of Jovani immediately flashed in his mind - were visible to the human eye.  
  
Steadying his grip, he then settled into one of the chairs by the counter. He’d rested his head against the surface, relieved that it were not the cold stone floor of the cave of ordeals. However, before his lids could close, something bolted in the dark. Something his dwindling senses had failed to pick up at first instance.  
  
Link kicked the chair out from beneath him, flailing backwards before he crashed onto the floor. He bit down the side of his mouth - gnawed red from the impacts he'd shouldered from arrows and machetes - and swallowed his voice before he could shout. His fingers leapt to the sword strapped to his back. They enclosed around the hilt with indiscriminate haste.  
  
... Nothing.

There was nothing here. Though, he refused to trust the silence. His eyes sifted through the gloom, searching for any sign of change. "Must be imagining things." His voice felt hoarse and scarcely recognisable, even to him.  
  
_'This is looks really bad, Link. You need to get help.'  
_  
His blue eyes narrowed. But his veins were alight beneath the calm, coursing with fire in every heartbeat. "And make this everyone else's problem?" he snarled, thankful that her melodic voice exercised restraint for a change.  
  
_'Don't be stupid about this! The worse you let this get, the more rest and healing you'll end up needing.'  
  
_"I'll be fine... if you let me sleep."  
  
He frowned, suddenly critical of his actions. Coming here contravened all of his wishes to never be seen in such a state. And yet, he wondered what might have happened if he had arrived hours before. If he had stumbled inside in the thick of business, catching the horror of those blissfully unaware of what lurked in Hyrule's depths. Or, if his injuries had caught the attention of those whose ghosts lingered at the meeting table this hour.  
  
Would they laugh at him for losing face? Would they fear for his incompetence? He wondered.  
  
There was a scratching in the ceiling. Followed by a scuffle... and then the sound of something new. A voice. It was deep and pleasant, murmuring through the walls just as the scratching stopped.  
  
Link fought to steady his heartbeat, now thumping hard, sending shockwaves into his nerves. His instincts shouted at him to hide, to run away from this place before any of them had ever known he was there. His journey had pushed him beyond the limits of knowledge, both common and rare. It had thrown him into a darkness that belonged only to his eyes. In the face of that burden, he could not be weak. He could not be seen.  
  
_'Looks like you won't get a choice in the matter.'  
_  
He rose to his feet as the footsteps followed. Creaking. Hesitant. Something large and white moved across the floor, painting a round shape over the grey.  
  
The first gentle touches of light rained down from the top of the staircase, streaming over the steps and onto the floor below. He froze in place, watching as the room was imbued with warmth. The candles cast a murky orange upon the walls, calling his tired eyes to their source. He ignored the nearby curtain as it shifted in the draft.  
  
The intruder descended.  
  
A head of messy sleep-tousled hair greeted him above a set of round frames, copper and gold against the gloom of night. His complexion was warm, beset by the rare gleam of blue in his eyes. He struggled to place the memory that they conjured... finding all that came to mind was the sky after twilight.  
  
"... Shad."  
  
The man froze at the foot of the stairs.  
  
"An assailant?" He jolted in place. And then, he pulled something from his pocket. A letter-opener gleamed back at him, cutting through the shadows.  
  
Link recoiled at the gesture and brought a hand against his face. The light, once welcome, now stung his eyes. He half-expected to hear some shout of protest or to be admonished for daring to arrive in such a state, at such an hour. But instead there was only silence. Slowly, his eyes adjusted, blinking back the dull pain that had entrenched itself into the back of his head.  
  
"Link," Shad breathed. He lowered his weapon, frowning as his gaze was ensnared. The tunic that had once drawn his ire was matted with dark patches. And his usual blonde hair was darker, flatter, bedraggled from the wild weather. "Is that... really you? What on earth has _happened_ to you, old boy?"

"Hey." Link swallowed, his breath laboured. "I'm... sorry. I didn't mean to wake anyone. I just... I couldn't. I'm sorry."  
  
A great white cat perched at his ankles and meowed once, insistent.  
  
"Oh, no. This won't do at all."  
  
In a swift and panicked scuffle, Shad moved in close and lifted Link's arm, wrapping it over his shoulder. Link's eyes widened and then immediately clenched shut as the other man attempted to drag him away, his limbs roaring in agony. All the while, his cheeks were hot to the touch. Their faces stood mere inches apart.  
  
"Sh-Shad... what are you doing? I _can_ _walk..."_  
  
His deep eyes matched the frown on his lips. "Please. Hush. Let us not wake the others."  
  
They hobbled up the stairs together, taking small steps at a time. Closed doors flickered past until they reached a room at the end of the hall. Link let himself be led inside without another word of protest. The other man lowered him into a chair, bending as he did so. Slowly. Gently.  
  
"If you would permit me just a moment."  
  
Shad whisked himself away into an adjacent room. There was the sound of running water. Candles danced on a nearby table, throwing shapes at the ceiling. Eventually, the scholar tore back into the room with a basin of water. A towel was stuffed under one arm and wrappings were bundled the other. When he stopped to light the room properly, the bandages spilled out of his grasp and onto the floor. He fussed, retrieving them with quiet haste.  
  
Link couldn't help but notice all of the books towering over a writing desk. It was a very organised clutter. Not unlike his home back in Ordon.  
  
"I apologise for the delay," Shad murmured, keeping his voice low and his eyes on the floor as he kneeled down in front. "Link, you are in an absolute state. We must get you cleaned up if you are to stand any chance of resting... well, all of _that_ off."  
  
Link sniffed once, loudly, shocked at the admission. But he swallowed the river down. "I didn't want to make anyone worry. It's my fault. I tried to get stronger and... I failed." His voice trembled.  
  
"Believe it or not, I am all too familiar with that feeling," Shad smiled, though his tone was humourless. The reflection of the flames bounced off his glasses. "Ah, but this is not about me. Please, will you remove those boots and those... erm... tights for me? We can start there."  
  
Link felt a new and sudden heat rushing to his face. A fever, he feared. "Oh. Is this, um... not a problem for you?"  
  
The scholar looked up and flashed a smile. Yet again, the warmth of his gesture hadn't quite met his eyes. "You are hardly the first person I've had to bandage in his place." He chuckled. "However, it occurs to me now that you may be asking on behalf of your own comfort. If that were the case, would you prefer that I leave it to your own hands, Link? I shan't be offended."  
  
"Th-That's not what... uh." He paused. A hot flash coursed through the rest of his body, exacerbating the waves of pain. "You know what you're doing. It's fine."  
  
"Very well."  
  
Link tossed his shoes to the side, shuffling in the seat as he peeled the leggings away. He failed to stifle a groan as the fabric lifted, darkened and clinging to him in patches. Shad averted his gaze once more, waiting until the hissing stopped before he dared to return his attention.  
  
His eyes combed over the legs in front of him. They were deceptively compact for one who held such power, adding to the younger man's air of mystery. His calves were chiselled - though, bloodied and raw from punctures and slash marks - like steel to the touch. Nicks and grazes from previous misadventures flashed white against his skin, prompting the scholar to wonder whether they had been amassed from the farm... or from elsewhere. _  
_  
"Hold still for me? I shall stop if we need to."  
  
A pained silence followed as Shad soaked the towel in the basin and then dabbed against the bloodied skin. His touches were delicate, avoidant of the point of impact. Link stifled a noise as the cold fabric stippled over his shins and then rained down over them. His skin was on fire and the feeling erupted with every touch before the chill of the air embraced it. The towel splashed back into the basin every couple of seconds, shattering the strained quiet with every sweep.  
  
He flinched as a new sensation took hold - a cloth, now dry, soaking up the residual damp. The swordsman bit down on his lip, wrestling his nerves as his leg pulled back and then thrashed forwards. He nearly kicked the basin of water away before Shad grabbed onto his heel, holding it steady against his lap. His leg twitched in his grasp. "I must say, there is scarcely a moment you haven't recoiled. It must have been quite the ordeal, old boy."  
  
Link bit down again before he mumbled. "... It was nearly fifty."  
  
"W-What? Pray tell?" Shad's eyes flew open. That familiar blue honed in on his with utter incredulity.  
  
"Just a joke! Sorry."  
  
The scholar frowned before he continued. Once he was satisfied with his work, he pulled a strip of gauze from the roll he'd fetched earlier. His fingers met at the back of the knee. Link kicked again, uttering a word of apology before Shad smiled and then wrapped it all the way down the leg. Firm, though unrestrictive. He tied it off at the ankle with careful precision.  
  
"I must apologise for hurting you," he said, quietly. "Even with a potion to aid the recovery process, there will be quite a lot of bruising. It seems especially painful here." His fingers brushed against a spot on his shin, flooding Link's mind with the memory of the beamos that shot it.  
  
"A-Agh...!"  
  
Shad flinched, his face burning red at the extent of his rudeness. Link regarded him with a most vulnerable gaze. "Erm, apologises! Oh, you must think me to have a terrible bedside manner."  
  
"No, Shad... thank you. Seriously. I don't know what to say."  
  
The scholar blushed, keeping his thoughts to himself as he dressed the other leg. His thigh looked to be in an even worse state with the crude etchings of arrowheads and blades in the cuts. Perhaps the strangest part about the injuries was their breadth. Though he hadn't an ounce of formal medical training, it seemed that _several_ different adversaries had taken their chances with the handsome swordsman. He could only grasp at what had become of them.  
  
He neatly tied the gauze at the top, stopping just scarce of his shorts. "You must have run out of healing supplies, yes?"  
  
Link resisted the urge to cringe. "I went in prepared. I mean, I brought as many as I _could_ but..."  
  
"Then once we are done here, I must insist that you have one of mine for good measure. It is also imperative that you receive proper rest." Shad smiled. And Link had little choice but to return it.  
  
His tunic was soon draped over the back of the chair.  
  
Upon removing the stubborn green garment, along with the layers of tattered clothing beneath - his sleeves bloodied, his belts frayed - Link turned himself around to the side. He gave a deep exhale as the cold night air stirred against his midsection, kissing the spots where Shad's fingers lingered moments before. Even the scholar's breath, held as the towel made contact and released as it was submerged in water, shook his senses.  
  
"Now, now. We're nearly done, old boy." He reached around Link's torso and shoulders, his eyelids narrowing with a smile as he tucked the ends of the bandages within.  
  
All that was left were the arms.  
  
The relief had been difficult to grasp. It was not as immediate as the blessing of a fairy. And Link wondered if unearthing the full extent of his mistakes had been wise, especially in the face of that intelligent gaze. But there was a discernible difference in how his skin moved beneath the bandages, in how it breathed when it was exposed. The fire had been doused, quelled under a series of gentle touches.  
  
Shad wrapped the last of the bandages around the grazes on his arm, ignoring the mark of the Triforce as his fingers passed over his hand. He pulled the ends together into a final knot before enclosing his hands around Link's palm. His touch was warm. And his candour was unflinching. The younger man looked back him, speechless.  
  
"You needn't charge head-first into danger to prove yourself, Link," Shad said, gently. "There are others you may depend upon. Others to share your burdens with. If you would only let them in."  
  
Link averted his gaze to the floor. His eyes were unfocused, unable to settle on any one spot. "It's hard." He sighed as though a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. "Sometimes... there are places where no one can follow."  
  
"Such as the lair of the Great Fairy?"  
  
The swordsman choked. Shad felt his body tense, locked into fight or flight mode, before he held firm onto his hand. His reaction only confirmed his suspicions.  
  
"Please, Link." His face fell. "It is no scandal to my lived experiences. And I would not look down upon you for attempting to face such a thing, alone. What I mean to say is that your safety is important to me. _You_ are important to me." He released his hand and then stole away before Link could respond, fetching a bottle of potion from one of the bathroom cabinets. _  
_  
When Shad returned, he caught the young man leaning back into the chair. He stared up the ceiling, the shadow of a smile on his features, before he turned to face him. Those bright blue eyes haunted him from across the room. They were fathomless, a frozen calm against the dim light. He pressed a bottle of swirling red liquid into his hands. And then Link opened the lid and lifted it to his lips.  
  
Shad brushed a wisp of hair off his shoulder as he drank, noticing that it was long and wiry - as though it once belonged to a great beast.  
  
When the empty bottle drew empty, he kneeled down in front of the swordsman once more, commanding his attention. "If you should ever need a thing, I will be here for you. No matter the hour," he promised. "And perhaps... if you were to see me directly... we could keep the nature of your exploits hidden? At your discretion, of course."  
  
Link's face sang with relief, silent in his gratitude. He tasted the heaviness in the air around them, breathing in slow as he learned forward. His lips indented as they closed down upon the other man's forehead. They were dry, scratching against his skin before the softer edges left their warm imprint. Shad nearly shuddered as Link exhaled, his breath caressing the spot where he had just planted the kiss.  
  
"I'd appreciate that," he replied. And then he brought his bandaged fingers to rest beneath the scholar's jaw. His pulse thundered beneath his touch.  
  
"Thank you, Shad. You're... important to me, too."


End file.
